Academics and activists will gather in Columbus tonight for a forum on what they call the dangerous practice of storing radioactive drilling water in landfills.

The drilling technique known as fracking shoots chemical-laced water deep underground to free up shale deposits. In many states, companies have strict rules on what they can do with fracking waste. Ohio rules are softer…too soft, says Ohio State University researcher Julie Weatherington-Rice. Sheâ€™s one of the speakers at tonightâ€™s forum.

â€œWe are looking at spreading materials that come a mile or more out of the Earth on to the surface, and bringing with it the things that come along with it,” Weatherington-Rice says.

Weatherington-Rice says that includes heavy metals and other radioactive material. Drilling companies have insisted the drilling technique is safe and has helped create thousands of jobs.
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